Classic, powerful, graphic, sharp, and sophisticated. These are some of the adjectives that come to mind when we think of black and white art devoid of colour. Take a look at some of our recent installations and client acquisitions that capture some fabulous monochrome moments.
If any of these artworks or artists are of interest, please contact us.
Tom Wesselmann
David Hockney
Gregory Siff
Terry O’Neill
Donald Sultan
Wayne Thiebaud, Display Rows, 1990, lithograph, 22.5 x 28.5 inches, edition of 60
Food has been a common motif in art for centuries. Both essential for our livelihood and a source of great pleasure, it is no surprise that food and feasting have remained staple themes spanning all artistic mediums. May 11th marks “Eat What You Want Day”, so we are taking this as an opportunity to highlight some of our current favourite culinary delights depicted in artwork. So, feast your eyes on these scrumptious masterpieces!
If any of these artworks or artists are of interest, please contact us.
John Baldessari, ADAM WASN’T INTO IT, 2018, 10 color screenprint, 33 x 28 inches, edition of 50
Lucy Sparrow, Nil by Mouth at 32, 2016, mixed media, 23 x 23 inches, edition of 20
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Gary Komarin, Cake Stacked, 2000, monotype, 43.5 x 34 inches
Andy Warhol, Space Fruit: Still Life (Apples), 1979, screenprint, 30 x 40 inches
Vik Muniz, National Gallery of Art (The Peppermint Bottle, Cezanne), Repro, 2018, digital C-Print, 40 x 50.25 inches, Edition of 6
Miles Aldridge, Crazy Rich Asians #1, 2013, chromogenic print, various sizes available
Chloe Wise, You’re like Versailles, you never move, 2018, oil on canvas, 60 x 48 inches
Maurizio Cattelan, Comedian, for sale from Perrotin at Art Basel Miami Beach, 2019
For centuries, April Fool’s Day has been celebrated on the first day of the month, a frivolous, unofficial holiday filled with practical jokes and pranks. During these heavy times, we could all use some lightheartedness, so we are taking this opportunity to highlight memorable pranks that have been played on the art world.
Some may recall the fake glasses incident that occurred at the San Francisco MoMA in 2016. Puzzled by some of the overly simplistic conceptual art pieces they encountered, two teenagers strategically placed a pair of eyeglasses underneath a wall placard in the hopes of duping visitors. Within minutes, bystanders stopped to ponder the glasses and take photos, treating them as if they were a bona fide artwork in the museum’s exhibition.
Glasses placed on the floor at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 2016
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While this case was a harmless teenage scheme, pranks have also been enacted by high profile artists. Most famously, Banksy orchestrated the destruction of one of his artworks during a live Sotheby’s auction that occurred in London in 2018. Immediately after the hammer pounded to solidify the sale of a Bansky painting for 1.4 million dollars, an alarm sounded and the artwork’s bottom half slid through an automatic shredder the artist himself concealed within its frame. This shocked the audience members as well as the auction house staff. The buyer ultimately decided to keep the partially destroyed artwork, whose titled officially changed from Girl with Balloon to Love in the Bin.
The most recent prank to send shockwaves throughout the art world was the infamous banana incident at Art Basel in Miami two years ago. The public became both bewildered and utterly fascinated by Maurizio Cattelan’s artwork showcased at the fair entitled, Comedian, which featured a ripe banana duct taped to the wall. Unbeknownst to the artist, performance artist David Datuna casually approached the artwork, grabbed the fruit off the wall and proceeded to eat it. This stunt elicited even more attention around the controversial piece. It is worth noting that three editions of this conceptual artwork sold, the first two selling at $120,000 before the price was raised to $150,000.
While certainly entertaining, these art pranks are not merely fatuous instances of harmless fun, as these spectacles catapulted these artworks into the canon of art history, potentially increasing their value significantly.
Banksy, Love is in the Bin, aerosol paint and acrylic paint on canvas, 40 x 31 inches, 2018 (originally Girl with Balloon, 2006)
The art world is complex, capricious and often difficult to navigate. It can, therefore, be particularly daunting when inheriting an artwork or an entire collection without proper knowledge of the myriad divesting…
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If any of these artworks or artists are of interest, please contact us.
Damien Hirst series (Source: Architectural Digest)
Paul Solberg, Spell, 2016, archival pigment inks with flocking, edition of 35, 45 x 30 inches
Polly Apfelbaum, There Are Many Hearts 3, 2020, woodblock monoprint, 14 x 14 inches
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Jim Dine, Poem on Main Street, 2017, edition of 4, 52.5 x 39 inches
Marilyn Minter, Prism, 2009, photograph, edition of 27, 20 x 16 inches
Donald Baechler, Brown Rose, 2015, silkscreen, edition of 35, 40 x 31 inches
Virtual viewing room, Frieze Art Fair 2020
2020 is a year that reshaped nearly all spheres of activity on a global scale – the artworld being no exception. Despite gallery closures and fair cancellations, the artworld has managed to persist through the pandemic, demonstrating a strong and resilient market.
With access to brick and mortar denied, the artworld largely moved online where virtual viewing rooms have become a staple. Even with the lack of hustle and bustle and the throngs of elite that usually pervade art fair convention centres, gallerists from major art fairs are touting strong sales from their online efforts. Similarly, auction houses acted swiftly to move their art auctions exclusively virtual with equally successful outcomes. Sotheby’s has reported global sales of over 5 billion for the year 2020, an increase from their 2019 of 4.8 billion.
El Anatsui, Metas III, 2014 – Sold for $1.5 million at Frieze Art Fair 2020
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The industry’s successful launch into the virtual sphere during this unprecedented year is an indication that buyers are still actively investing in art and that they are comfortable purchasing artwork sight unseen. When presented with quality art from trusted sources, the pandemic has proven not to be a roadblock for art collectors, investors, and dealers.
If you are looking to add to your collection, invest in fine art, or sell art, or if you need an art consultant or appraiser, contact Robin Rosenberg Fine Art!
Roy Lichtenstein, Nude with Joyous Painting, 1994, Sold at Christie’s New York for $46.2 million in July 2020
Jean (Hans) Arp was a French / German sculptor, painter, and poet. His work and artistic voice were deeply influential in creating both the Dada and Surrealist movements. He is well known for his biomorphic sculptures, which are described as ‘organic abstraction.’ These sculptures are abstract and non-representational, yet suggest natural motifs such as transformation, metamorphosis, and growth which are common themes within Arp’s art practice.
Arp was born in 1886, in Alsace which is a French town bordering Germany. Arp referred to himself as ‘Jean’ when speaking French, and as ‘Hans’ when speaking German. In 1911, Arp helped establish the first modern art alliance, Der Moderne Bund, thus interacting with artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Amedeo Modigliani and Pablo Picasso. During World War I, Arp fled the horrors and dangers of war by going to Zurich, Switzerland, where he consequently helped found the Avant-Garde Dada Movement, which aimed to create chaos, while focusing on work that was both interdisciplinary and international.
In 1925, Arp helped form a new major art movement: Surrealism. His work was shown at the first Surrealist exhibition at Galerie Pierre, in Paris, alongside Max Ernst, Paul Klee, Man Ray, and Joan Miro, among others. He experienced extreme commercial success, which continued into the 1930s. His sculptures, in particular, gained much attention, following the 1937 exhibition at the Museum Of Modern Art, New York.
Today Arp’s work can be found in the collections of the Tate Gallery in London, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, and the Art Institute of Chicago, among others.
David Hilliard, He Said, She Said, 2005, three-panel archival pigment print, 24 x 60 or 40 x 90 inches.
Before the inevitable change of seasons, Robin Rosenberg Fine Art would like to celebrate the last few weeks of summer by sharing some works by artists who are making a splash. Whenever you’re ready to dive into art collecting, please be sure to contact us here.
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Joan Brown, The Bicentennial Champion, 1976, enamel on canvas, 96 x 78 inches.
Massimo Vitali, #2303 Coney Es, 2006, lightjet print from negative scan on photographic paper on diasec with wooden frame, 35 2/5 x 43 3/10 inches, Edition 35 of 35 + 4AP.
Carole A. Feuerman, Miniature Brooke with Beach Ball, 2018, mixed media with resin, Edition 14/38, 12 x 16 x 12 inches.
Hiejin Yoo, Doing Our Favorites, 2018, flashe and oil on canvas, 30 x 28 inches.
Vivian Maier, 0119304 1963 Kids Digging For Clams, 2017,modern gelatin silver print, 12 x 12 inches.
Cy Tombly, Untitled, 1954, mixed media on paper, 19 x 25 inches. Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Most art enthusiasts have been confronted, at one time or another, with a friend or family member’s derisive reaction to a piece of Modern or Contemporary art; “I could do that” or, “my kid could do that”. Disregarding the fact that even minimalist artwork takes more time, effort and technical prowess than most take into consideration, even if you or your child sincerely could produce an artwork in question, this reaction still proves to be a rather unhelpful response to art.
Barnett Newman, Voice of Fire, 1967, 213 x 94 inches, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.
People tend to overlook the fact that an artwork’s significance is not exclusively limited to its visual properties. Any Art History 101 class will repeatedly emphasize the importance of art’s contextual aspects. Artists are influenced by their socio-political and personal realities and, therefore, their artwork is inextricably linked to various situational circumstances. As an onlooker, you, nor your offspring, share the personal motivations or particular social realities that the artist experienced and, therefore, could not have been a position to produce the same artwork they did.
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It is also important to consider conceptual art which, as its name aptly implies, involves an artwork being used as a vehicle through which a concept or idea is manifested. An artist’s goal is not always to impress viewers with their incredible craftsmanship, but can be to convey a message or elicit a response.
Alexander Calder, Mond und Stern, 1965, Lithograph, 30 x 22 inches. Edition of 100.
So, the next time you find yourself in the presence of an artwork that does not impress you aesthetically, fight the urge to shrug it off. Investigate further, read a gallery wall label or do a quick google search so you can learn about the artist’s background and get a better sense of the ‘why’ as opposed to solely the ‘what’ in terms of the art they produce.
Hank Willis Thomas, Raise Up, 2014, bronze, 112 1/5 × 9 4/5 × 3 9/10 inches, edition of 5.
All over the world, people are protesting the ongoing oppression and brutality Black people experience. Our current global situation is encouraging all demographics to re-examine their actions, words and privileges in order to better support Black voices and communities in hopes of overcoming racial injustice.
The art world is certainly not exempt from this fight. The canon of Art History overwhelmingly favours white male artists. As an art firm, we feel it is our responsibility to contribute to changing this damaging narrative by using our platform to both acknowledge the exclusionary nature of our industry and help overcome it by continuously touting our support for and recognition of talented Black artists.
Amy Sherald, First Lady Michelle Obama, 2018, oil paint on linen, 72 x 61 inches, National Portrait Gallery.
We would like to shine a spotlight on several contemporary Black artists whose respective artistic practices engage with and challenge ideas concerning racial stereotypes and forms of representation as well as systemic oppression.
Amy Sherald made waves in recent years as the artist behind First Lady Michelle Obama’s revered official portrait. Her work primarily focuses on realism and portraiture, depicting Black subjects. She engages with African American storytelling and raises questions concerning skin colour, exhibited through her poignant choice to use grey shades for skin in her portraits.
Installation photo from Kara Walker’s Narratives of a Negress at the Tang Teaching Museum, 2003.
Kara Walker is a multidisciplinary artist based in the United States. She is most well-known for her work using large scale black cut paper silhouettes as well as her sculptures made from the unique material, sugar. Walker’s oeuvre engages with the history of slavery along with race, gender, violence, identity and the Black experience of both the past and present.
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Installation photo from Nick Cave’s Here Hear exhibition at the Cranbrook Art Museum, 2015.
Nick Cave is a sculptor, dancer and performance artist, internationally celebrated for his Soundsuits. These sculptures are wearable, surreal works that are inspired by the history of racial violence in the United States. They are vehicles of empowerment as their outward representations obscure visible markers of race, gender and class.
We welcome you to continue to engage with the work of Black artists by clicking on the images featured throughout this blog post.
Selected work by artists included are available through Robin Rosenberg Fine Art. For details, please contact us here.
